Around the world: A Scotsman traveller's blog continues

Published on Wednesday 3 September 2008 09:53

WHEN it comes to getting around there are many options available to travellers in New Zealand.

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The obvious option is to rent a vehicle and navigate your own merry way around the islands. However we are collectively devoid of driving licenses and so we turned to the numerous tour bus operators for an answer. We found it with Stray travel. Catering for a range of ages the Stray aims to attract independent types looking for an adventurous trip. Their offer to take us off the beaten track appealed to us and so we boarded the big orange bus for our journey south.

Our first stop was at Hot Water Beach. The Kiwis certainly say it like they see it with this geothermal gem. The beach has hot water currents simmering just below the sand. With the aid of a shovel we dug our own steaming pool of hot sea water and stewed in it, watching the waves roll in. With only a few scalds on our toes we headed off again to the beautiful Hahei beach. On foot we followed the coastal path for an hour before reaching Cathedral Cove. This dramatic inlet was used by film-makers recently during the making of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. A spectacular sandstone sea stack and arch way are the principal characters on the beach with the white sand and turquoise water creating the backdrop. Despite the cool winds the temptation to stay there all day was huge.

The following day we took a trip away from the north coast to the east. Famed for its excellent surf breaks, Raglan is New Zealand's surfing mecca and our next destination. Unfortunately our time there was hampered by heavy rain and the elusive waves remained just that. In search for some sheltered activities we headed for Waitomo. Getting out of the rain here meany abseiling 40 metres into a cave. Not quite what I had in mind when I was promised an afternoon out of the rain. Any notions of staying dry soon disintegrated as we climbed down underground waterfalls and crawled through water filled pot holes. Waitomo literally translates as water holes and below the town runs a series of limestone caves. Exploring the latter and seeing their famous glow-worms was quite an experience. Emotions ranged from sheer terror to awe in the space of a few hours.

Happy to see day light again and content that we had successfully gotten off the beaten track, we made our way onto a well trodden road, the road to uber-popular Rotorua...